Nature's Knight
by Wendbria
Summary: The Crown Princess of Lynphea, Flora, has grown up with only a small group of friends. And trusting no one more then the commander of her royal guard, Helia. With their help she hopes to stop her arranged marriage to a man she has never met and solve the mysteries of the new royal advisor. Can Flora do it before its to late? There will be magic, adventure, and maybe...love.
1. Betrothed

**Okay, so I haven't done a Winx story in awhile, but I do have a bunch of other stories that I am working on. So if this doesn't get enough followers or reviews I will probably not update in for a long time. It depends on you readers.**

"I wonder what the king and queen want to see you about?" A young woman with long golden hair and bright brown eyes asked as she pushed yet another dress into the dressing room.

"Aw, leave her alone Stella. I'm sure she is pretty nervous without you helping." A girl the same age with long orange hair and light blue eyes said with a smile.

"Bloom is right. You know how she gets when her parents call her unexpectantly." Another girl with fair skin and long bluish black hair said. "She gets practically sick."

"I'm sorry to interrupt you guys but Musa, is she all ready for tonight?" A young woman with short pink hair and teal eyes asked as she looked at her phone. "We need to keep up with the schedule."  
Musa nodded. "Yeah, she is ready to go Tecna. She has all the moves down for the latest dances. They were a little difficult but luckily Aisha was there to help."

"Did someone call my name?" A girl with curly dark brown hair and dark skin asked as she walked in from the bathroom.

"Just making sure everything is running correctly." Tecna looked down at her phone again. Speaking of which, we are running 2.34 minutes behind schedule. We need to hurry up."

"You hear that?!" Stella rapped at the door. "We need to hurry up. Just put on the pink silk dress with the maroon trim so we can get you going."

"I..I'm not sure. I'm to nervous. Tell my parents that I don't feel well." A timid voice called from the other side of the door.

"Just come on out. The sooner you do the sooner this will be all over." Aisha tried to encourage her shy friend.

A moment later the door opened up slowly to reveal a young woman with tan skin, dark green eyes the color of evergreen trees, and long flowing honey brown hair.

"You look absolutely stunning Flora, like always." Bloom smiled.

Flora smiled back. She knew that her friends were trying to give her some encouragement before she had to see her parents. They knew how she gets.

Just then there was a knock at the front door of Flora's bedchambers.

"We must get going princess. Your parents are waiting." Someone called from the other side.

"I'm coming." With one more deep breath Flora headed for the door. "I'll let you know what happens." And with that Flora shut the door behind her.

"There you are princess."

Flora looked up and smiled.

Standing before her was the Commander of her Royal Guard, Helia.

Helia was much taller then Flora. He had fairer skin then her that only help to show off his medium length dark, almost black, hair that was cut in a spiky style that grazed his shoulders, but the thing that Flora loved most about her young commander was his bright blue eyes. They looked like they were touch by the ocean itself. They were so full of life and joy.

He wore the standard royal guard uniform, a blue and white jumpsuit with a light blue cape that carried the family crest and the clasp holding the cape was the color of emerald green signifying Helia's rank. All of the specialists below him had clasp of the color pink. It wasn't the manliest color but it was Flora's favorite, which made it an obvious choice for her personal royal guard.

"Hello Helia. Sorry to keep you waiting."

Helia smiled. "It's fine princess. You look stunning, except you are missing something."

Flora looked at him confused.

Helia pointed to his head. "Your crown."  
Flora immediately felt her head and blushed. She had forgotten the most important accessory of royalty. "Oops."

Just as Flora turned around to go back inside the door opened and revealed a hand holding a tiara of platinum that was made to look like vines in a delicate design with emeralds embedded throughout it with a large pink diamond in the middle.

"Thank you." Flora said before the door closed. She placed the tiara gently on her head and turned back to Helia. "Now I'm ready."  
Helia chuckled. "So it seems." He stepped out of the way and gave a slight bow. "Shall we."

Flora and her escort walked down the hallway to the king and queen's private chamber.

Usually Flora walked around with at least two other guards but since she was in the castle she felt she only needed one and she was always ecstatic when that one guard was Helia. It gave them some rare one on one time.

Flora didn't always have a royal guard. When she was young she was able to walk around the castle freely.

But that all changed when she was twelve.

_Flashback six years ago…_

_The sun was just setting but it was hard to tell with all the clouds that had been covering the sky all day. Because of the weather being so drearily, the young princess had spent the day inside. Right before the sun was about the set, the clouds had parted letting in a little sunshine on the gloomy day. Seeing a small chance to go outside, Flora jumped at the opportunity and she ran to her favorite spot, the family's royal garden. _

_Since Lynphea was the magical planet of nature, the entire planet was practically a giant garden, but the area that young Flora was going to was especially special. The Royal Gardens was an area that was for the royal family only. It had been around for hundreds of years, with each new king and queen taking over the gardens. That was one thing that Flora couldn't wait for when she one day became queen. _

_Flora ran into the gardens and to her favorite spot in the gardens, a cherry blossom tree stood over in one corner of the garden._

_Flora's father, King Asher had given it as a wedding gift to his bride, Flora's mother, Queen Lily. They had planted together on the day they got married and it had been growing under Queen Lily's care ever since._

_Flora loved the tree not only for its unique colored petals and sweet scent but because when she looked at it she could see the love that her parents shared and only hoped that she too would find someone to love and cherish. _

_Flora took care of the surrounding flowers and plants, taking extra care of her mother's one of kind lilies that she had created herself. She was on her knees in front of some sunflowers, making sure that they had fresh fertilizer when suddenly someone came up behind her and covered her mouth with a rag. Flora breathed in some kind of sleeping powder and feel asleep before she could let out a signal noise. She collapsed in the mystery person's arms. _

_The man picked up the young princess and headed off into the darkness. _

_To a new person the Lynphea castle could become an unforgiving maze of twist, turns, and dead ends. _

_Luckily, the kidnapper was not use to the castle and went down the wrong hallway and ran smack dab into the King's royal guard and general, Cordatorta. _

_Cordatorta instantly recognized the small sleeping form as the young princess and in a blink of an eye he had pulled out his sword and pointed it at the kidnapper's throat. He had also grabbed Flora from the kidnapper without him even noticing._

_Cordatorta shouted for his backup but before they arrived the kidnapper disappeared in a cloud of smoke._

_Ever since that day the king and queen were worried about their firstborn and made it so that she too would have her own personal guard at all times._

_Helia did not come into the Princess Royal Guard until Flora was sixteen. The king saw the young man's talent and made him the commander of his daughter's guard, making Helia the youngest commander ever at the age of 18._

_End of Flashback_

Flora looked up at her commander. She still couldn't believe that she had known him for two years already. It felt like yesterday that she met him. But before she got the chance to go down memory lane, her thoughts were interrupted.

"We are here Flora."

"W-what?" Flora looked and saw that they were standing in front of two large oak doors with the family crest on them. "Oh yes. That walk seems so short sometimes."

Helia smiled. "I'm sure that everything will be okay."

Flora gave him a grateful smile. He knew better then anyone how she felt when her parents called her to their chambers out of the blue. It usually meant something that whatever they wanted to tell her, they wanted to make sure that there was no audience to see her upset.

Flora nodded to the two guards for them to open the doors.

"Good luck princess." Helia smiled as he watched Flora walk in.

_**King and Queen's Royal Chambers…**_

Flora walked into the sitting room. It was very simplistic in its design with a fireplace, a small bookshelf, a table and four chairs around the table. It also had large windows that showed the scenery that was Lynphea. Flora had a feeling that her parents like to keep it simple because of all the clutter that was around the rest of the castle.

Sitting in one of the chairs sipping on a cup of tea was a older woman with long honey brown hair, fair skin, and deep brown eyes. Sitting next to her was a man reading a book. He had tanned skin, black hair, and deep green eyes.

"Hello father, hello mother."

The two looked up and when they saw their eldest daughter they both smiled.

"Oh honey, you can stop with the formality. We are alone after all." The queen stood up and gave Flora a hug. "It feels like we don't get to see you as often anymore."

"Yes, I'm sorry about that. Tecna keeps me on a tight scedhule."

The king laughed. "I had a feeling she would be a good pick for the person in charge of your schedule."

"She keeps us all in place, even Stella." Flora joked.

"Now come and sit." Lily motioned for one of the other empty chairs. "We have a lot to discuss."  
Flora followed and sat down across from her parents.

"Tea sweetie?" Lily held up the kettle. "It's hibiscus tea, your favorite."

"Yes please." Flora watched as her mother poured the bright pink liquid into the small white teacup.

"Two sugars and a bit of honey, just like when you were little." The queen said as she handing the cup over.

"Thank you." Flora sipped the hot tea, it helped to calm her nerves, but only a little bit. "So what did you two want to talk about?"

"Yes, well its something of great importance and I wanted to tell you before the ball tonight." The king sat up in attention. "Now as you know, you had just recently turned eighteen."

Flora nodded. Not sure where this was going.

The queen continued. "And being the first born, you are the crown princess and will eventually take over as queen when we feel you are ready and we want to step down."

"That's not for some time though." Flora added. "You two are still quite young and able."

"Thank you sweetie but the time for us to step down will come faster then you would think."

"What your mother and I are trying to say is that to rule a kingdom and the entire planet takes a lot of time and energy. It's something that shouldn't be done by one person."

Flora now understood what her parents were saying. "You want me to start dating?"

The queen gave her a sad looking smile. "Not exactly honey."

"But I don't understand. You are saying it takes two people to rule the kingdom, so I need to find someone to help me, a king."

"You don't have to find one…"

"Because we found one for you." The queen said happily.

Flora stopped the cup midway to her lips. "What?"

The king let out a sigh. "We have found you a potential king. Sweetie, you are now betrothed."

**So what do you guys think? Should I continue, or should I just wait? PLEASE let me know. **


	2. Getting Ready

**So it looks like this is getting good feedback. Thank you so much to all the people who favorited/followed/reviewd this story and told me what they thought. Now I'm still not promising to update regularly (there are some other stories I REALLY want to finish) but I will continue the story and won't abandoned it.**

**ENJOY**

"WHAT?!" Flora could not hold her outburst. If what she heard was correct then her parents had picked out a husband for her.

"Now, now, I know this is a lot sweetie." The queen tried to calm down her daughter. "I am sorry about how we told you but we saw no other way to tell you."

"Why?" Flora looked down. Trying to hold in the tears. "Why would you do something like this to me? Don't you love me?"  
"Of course we do." The king said. "We are doing this in your best interest. It is highly important that you have a good king by your side."

"Why can't I pick him out?"

"Now honey, what have I always told you? A princess' duty is to her kingdom…"

"And then to herself." Flora finished the sentence that her mother had been telling her since she was a little girl.

"Good you remember. So please stop being so upset. Once you meet the man everything will be better."

"I guessed…I wished…I hoped that one day I would be able to find someone who would love and cherish me for me and not just my title."

"I'm sorry sweetie. We wanted to tell you alone, instead of in front of people. And please understand that we are doing this because we love you." Her mother tried her best to cheer Flora up but it was no use. She was much to upset over the news.

"May I please be excuse?"

"Of course." The king aloud Flora to leave.

The doors closed behind Flora and she no longer held back her tears.

"Flora," Helia walked towards her. "How did it go?"

But Flora didn't answer, instead she ran past Helia with her hands covering her face.

"FLORA!" Helia called her as he ran after her.

Flora didn't listen, she didn't care. She ran straight to her chambers and without waiting for the guards to open the doors she slammed the doors opened, ran past the girls waiting for her in the sitting room, and ran into her room where she collapsed on her bed and started crying into her pillow.

In an instant, the girls ran into Flora's room and saw her on her bed.

"Flora, what's the matter?" Bloom asked.

"Was the news that bad?" Musa asked as well.

Not a moment after the girls arrived, Helia stormed into Flora's room. He saw her crying into her pillow. He looked at the others for an explanation but they shrugged.

He quietly walked over and sat next to Flora and gently placed his hand on Flora's back and gently talked to her. "Flora, princess, what's the matter?"

Flora got up and positioned herself to sit next to Helia. She wiped her eyes and looked at all her friends with their concerned faces. It meant the world that they cared so much about her.

"It's just not fair." Flora stammered. "My parents are being unfair." Flora could feel more tears forming.

Helia handed her a tissue and put his arm around her shoulders. "How are your parents being unfair?"

"Hey you guys, why don't we give these two some room to talk?" Aisha suggested.

"What? But.."

"Come on Stel. Flora can tell us later if she wants to." Bloom pushed Stella out the room and the other girls followed.

"We will be right outside if you need us." Musa said before closing the door.

Flora dabbed her eyes with the tissue. She was sure that she looked like a total mess.

"I'm sorry for leaving you like that Helia."

"It's okay Flora. You are obviously upset."

"Yes, I am. Very much so. What my parents want me to do is just not right."

"If you don't mind me asking, what is it that they wanted from you."

"They pretty much want my life." Helia gave her a confused look. "What I mean is, they want me to promise my life to someone I don't even know. You see…." Flora took a deep breath. She didn't even want to say it out loud. "I'm betrothed."

"What?!" Helia sounded shocked.

Flora nodded. "They called me to tell me that they have found me a new husband. A man suitable to be the future king of Lynphea."

"That seems very unlike your parents." Helia still couldn't fully believe it.

"I agree but my mom has always told me about the sacrifices that a princess must make for her kingdom. I guess that was her way of warning me."

"Do you know who the person is?"

Flora shook her head. "No, I didn't stay to find out. I was to upset. I'm sure that they will probably announce who it is at the ball tonight." Flora wrapped her arms around Helia and he wrapped his around her.

"I'm so scared Helia. What if I don't like this man. What if he doesn't like me? I always wanted to marry for love."

Helia squeezed Flora tight. "Don't you worry Flora. You are the kindness and sweetest person I know. There isn't anyone you don't like. And there is no way that a person could not like you. And as for the love, hopefully that will come with time. You just have to keep an open mind." Helia rested his head on top of Flora's. "And don't forget that you have your friends here to help you and you will always have me by your side."

Flora broke the embrace and looked up and Helia and smiled. "Thank you Helia. You always know what to say to make me feel better."

Helia smiled back. "That's part of my job. It wouldn't be much fun to have to guard you without seeing that pretty smile." Flora blushed at the compliment. "Now I know you have a lot on your mind but I believe its time for you to get ready for the ball."

Flora sighed and stood up. "Yes, I suppose you are right." She then leaned in to whisper. "I'm sure that Tecna is pacing around with her phone." Flora held back a giggle but then she sighed. "I don't know when I'm going to get the chance to tell the girls the news about my betrothal."

Helia leaned in and whispered. "I don't think you will have to. I'm sure they have been listening the whole time from the other side of the door." He then winked and started talking a little louder. "I know the perfect outfit for tonight Flora. I'm thinking you should wear something of orange plaid with green polka dots."

"I DON'T THINK SO!" Stella stormed into the room with the other girls falling down without the support of the door.

Flora couldn't help but laugh at the scene.

Stella stormed up to Helia and poked her finger at his chest. "First off, orange and green together would make Flora look like a pumpkin. And second, plaid and polka dot can only be pulled off with the help of an expert like moi. As her fashion advisor I well not allow such an atrocity!"

Helia simply chuckled. "It was simple a suggestion. Now I shall take my leave to allow you girls to do your thing." He nodded to the girls and turned to Flora and gave a bow. "I will be back to escort you to the ball princess."

Flora watched as Helia left and her smile slightly fell watching him leave. She then turned to her girlfriend. "So you heard the whole thing?"

The girls nodded.

"Majority of it. We are so sorry Flora. That is horrible news." Bloom went over and gave Flora a hug and soon all the girls came and it became one large group hug.

"Thanks you guys."

"Don't you worry Flora. We are all going to be here for you." Musa said.

"And why not look fabulous while you are going through the tough times." Stella broke out of the hug and headed for Flora's extremely large closet. She went in and a few moments later come out with a rose-colored ball gown that had white lace trim.

The girls couldn't help but laugh at their blonde friend. Leave it to Stella to always think about clothes even in the worse of times.

"She is right though." Tecna looked to her trusty phone. "We all need to get ready for the ball. And don't forget that the boys will be coming to escort us."

At that small bit of information all the girls squealed. Whenever all the boys came around the girls got a little crazy.

"I totally forgot." Bloom said. "I don't even know what to wear."

"Neither do I." Aisha said. "And I need to find a dress that's easy to dance in. Nabu promise to dance with me."

"You seem awfully calm through all this." Flora observed Stella who was simply looking at her nails.

All the girls stopped and looked at Stella. They were just as surprised. Usually she would be running around like mad trying to find the perfect outfit.

"Well that is because I planned my outfit already."

"What? No way Stel." Musa didn't believe her.

"And I also had time to pick out all of your outfits as well." Stella's hand started to glow and she waved in above her head.

All the girls started to sparkle and soon they were all dressed in the finest of gowns.

Bloom was dressed in a light sky blue trumpet dress with a halter-top and had navy blue swirls. Her orange hair was put up into a twist bun onto of her head. She wore chandelier blue diamond earrings to accent her dress.

Stella wore a strapless ruby red sequin A-line gown. Her blonde hair was put up into a high ponytail and curled. She wore a gold necklace with a ruby in the middle of a pendent in the shape of a sun.

Aisha wore a spaghetti strap shimmering mermaid gown in the color of light green at the bottom that gradually changed to a cream color at the top. Her hair was straightened and laid down normally. She wore a seashell clip in her hair.

Musa was wearing a magenta kimono style gown with a off the shoulder bodice and long sleeves that had large openings. And it had a large red bow tied in the back. Her hair was put into a tight bun with chopsticks poking out.

Tecna wore a deep violet purple empress style gown with multiple layers of different shades of purple. Her hair was lengthened slightly. She wore multiple bangles in colors of purple, teal, and silver.

Flora's gown was rose color. It was a strapless corset bodice with a white ribbon tightening the corset. Where the ball gown expanded at the bottom of the bodice, it had a white lace sash that wrapped around Flora's small waist. The bottom of the hem had matching white lace around it. Her hair was half down and half up in a complicated style of twist, knots, and curls. Within the twist were small pearls. She wore a pearl necklace with a simple matching rose color princess cut crystal pendent. On top of Flora's head was a tiara similar to her usual one but it was vines with small roses with no emeralds. And instead of the pink diamond she had a large rose crystal with pearls surrounding the crystal.

"Wow, these are absolutely beautiful Stella." Flora twirled around in her dress.

"You are totally awesome Stel. I can dance all night in this." Aisha tried out one of her moves.

"Tell me something I don't know." Stella blew on her nails. "Another success for Stella Solaria, Fashion Genius."

"Well if you are done being humble Ms. Fashion Genius, I think that it's time to leave." Aisha joked making the other girls laughed while Stella huffed.

Soon there was a knock on the door.

"That must be our escort." Bloom walked over to the door and opened it to reveal six men dressed in blue and white jumpsuits with light blue capes.

A man with blonde hair in a medium spiky style hair and blue eyes bowed. "Hello your highness and ladies. We are here to escort all of you to the ball tonight."

"Hi Sky." Bloom gave him a little wave.

"Lady Bloom, you look quite lovely."

"Snookums!" Stella came running and jumped on a man with short dark brown hair and brown eyes.

"Oof!" He wrapped his arm around the girl. "Hey there Sunshine." He laughed.

"Poor Brandon." Musa and Aisha giggled.

"Hello there Aisha. You look amazing." A man with a dark complexion and dark brown hair in tied in two ponytails.

Aisha couldn't help but blush. "Thank you Nabu. You look good too."

"I l-like your dress Tecna." A lanky boy with short orange hair glasses stammered.

"Thank you Timmy. Tell me how was that antivirus program I gave to you?"

"A yes, it is working quite well. The firewall on the motherboard is super especially now that…"

"Yeah, yeah, enough with the geek talk." A man with magenta colored hair, purple eyes, and a scowl on his face interrupted.

Musa walked up to the man slowly. "Aren't you going to say something about my dress Riven?"

Riven looked away and a blush started to rise in his cheeks. "You look very nice."

Flora walked through the crowd until she found the man she was looking for standing in the back watching over everyone.

"H-hello Helia." Flora blushed.

Helia smiled and bow. "You look absolutely beautiful Princess." He then took her hand and kissed. "Although you do look beautiful everyday."

"Thank you Helia. And you look quite handsome yourself."

Instead of wearing the standard Royal Guard uniforms, Helia was wearing maroon colored pants with a grey colored button down jacket with gold buttons. He wore a maroon colored cape with the Royal Family Crest imprinted on it in silver. He also wore a pin on his chest that showed his ranking.

Due to him being the personal escort of the princess he had to wear an outfit a little more distinguish then the others.

"Shall we go princess?" Helia held out his elbow.

"Of course." Flora smiled and took his arm.

Even though she had a lot on her mind about the whole problem with her new engagement, Flora always felt better with Helia by her side.


	3. Announcements

Flora walked down the hallway with Helia until they made it to the large oak doors, the entrance to Lynphea's grand ballroom.

The other girls and boys entered until it was time fore Flora's grand entrance.

"I GIVE YOU, HER ROYAL MAJESTY, CROWN PRINCESS FLORA MARIGOLD OF LYNPHEA, ESCOURTED BY COMMANDER OF HER MAJESTY'S ROYAL GUARD, SIR HELIA ACACIA." The announcer called down the guests.

Flora held her head high and descended down the marble stairs with her hand around Helia's arm.

All eyes were on her and she had to show them that she was a well-behaved princess who would be a good future leader.

Once the two of them made it down the steps, Flora felt a little better. She always worried she would trip and fall down the stairs in front of everyone.

People cleared the way as Helia and her walked through until they were standing in front of the king and queen sitting on their thrones.

Flora let go of Helia's arm and gave her parents a curtsy while Helia bowed. They both came up and Flora's parents gave them both a nod. Helia then took Flora's hand once again and started walking her out to the dance floor.

Both took their positions. It was a tradition of Lynphea for one of the royals to start off the first dance. The orchestra positioned themselves and soon they began the first notes of a waltz.

Helia knew how Flora got nervous about dancing in front of large groups of people. "Don't worry princess, just relax." He whispered in her ear as he took the lead.

Helia's words instantly comforted her and she quickly followed his steps. The two moves smoothly through the complicated steps, neither making a misstep.

Flora looked up at Helia. He looked like he was enjoying himself and relaxing but she knew the truth. He was constantly scanning the area, always on the alert for something out of the ordinary.

Soon the song ended and everyone applauded. The two separated and gave a bow/curtsy to one another. Helia took Flora's hand and kissed it. "You dance magically princess."

Flora blushed lightly but the moment was soon broken when a new song started and another man asked her to dance. Not wanting to be impolite she took the man's outstretched hand. The dance floor was soon crowded with people. Flora passed some of her friends on the floor. Sure to his word, Nabu was dancing with Aisha and she was smiling the whole time and so was Nabu.

Just by looking at the way that Nabu twirled Aisha, Flora could tell how much he loved her. Nabu had asked Aisha out about a year ago but Aisha was a little stubborn about it, after some persistence she finally admitted that she liked him too and they have been dating ever since.

The man spun Flora around and she then saw Riven leaning against a pillar. He didn't look too happy. He had a deep scowl on his face. Flora could only guess that he and Musa had some kind of fight. They bickered constantly but Flora knew that behind every fight and every comment was a lot of love. Musa just wasn't use to opening up to someone and Riven had trouble expressing his feelings. It would take some time but those two would figure things out.

Flora twirled around again and saw Bloom dancing with Sky and Stella with Brandon.

Those two couples were a lot alike. They weren't afraid to let the world know about how they felt for their significant other. Stella and Brandon were especially loud about their feelings while Bloom and Sky were a little subtler.

Flora continued dancing around the dance floor and then she spotted Timmy and Tecna. Those two were an interesting couple. They were standing next to each other but not talking face to face. They were more comfortable talking through their technology. But Flora knew better, behind the constant texts there was this strong bond between the two.

Flora had always wanted relationships like her friends. Something that didn't seem like it would truly work out but love kept them together and made things perfect. But she would never get the chance to experience it, instead she would spend the rest of her life with a stranger, only hoping that they could love each other or at least be friends.

The song soon ended and Flora gave her dance partner a curtsy. The man bowed and went on his way. Deciding it might be a good time for a break, Flora headed for where the food and drink were set on display.

"Having fun Princess?"

Flora was so startled she almost spilled her drink but caught it in the last minute. She turned around to see who was talking and she was surprised when she saw a man with long black hair tied in a ponytail, almost grayish skin, a scar over his left eye, and he was wearing a gaudy outfit of purple and black with feathers.

"Um…yes I am, thank you. How are you enjoying it sir?" Flora didn't know why but the man gave her the creeps.

"It's alright, a little to bright for my taste, but this ball isn't for me." He smiled and Flora and she wanted to cringe.

"I see."

"Well I must be off, hope to see you again soon your majesty." He then bowed and gave Flora's hand a kiss. She immediately wanted to wash her hand. She watched as the man walked away when she realized she didn't know his name.

"That was odd."

Flora turned and saw Helia standing next to her with a serious expression.

"Yes it was, I'm not sure who that man is but he sure does give me the creeps."

"I agree, I'm going to need to find out more about him."

"You can do that later, right now can we just have fun?"  
Helia looked down at Flora and smiled. "Of course. Anything for you." He took her hand and they headed back to the dance floor. The song had changed to a slow paced song.

There was not much movement to this particular dance. The two people just swayed to the music. It was a chance for people to be close to their partner. Flora was more than happy that she would be able to dance it with Helia.

The two started to sway to the music slowly. Helia was holding Flora's right hand in his left and had his other hand placed on Flora's hip and she had her other hand on Helia's shoulder.

"What do you think of the ball so far?" He asked.

"I think its going pretty well. Nothing disastrous has happened."  
"Be careful, you might as well just put a curse on us." Helia joked.

Flora giggled. "I just hope my parents don't make any crazy announcements."

Helia nodded, knowing exactly what Flora was talking about. "I've been keeping my eyes on the look out for anyone who might be your potential husband."

Flora made a face. "How about we stop thinking about him. Instead let's enjoy the evening. You don't always have to be on duty."

"You have that wrong. I'm always on duty. I don't want anything to hurt you."

Flora looked down, trying to hide her blush. Flora laid her head against Helia's chest. Feeling relaxed and happy with him. He always made her feel safe. She still did not believe that he had been in her life for two years. It feels like yesterday that she had met him.

_Flashback_

_Flora was walking the grounds with her father and mother. The royal guard surrounded them as they walked. Flora had gotten use to the guards always being around and accepted them as part of her life for a long time. As her family was walking the grounds they came across the special Royal Guard training barracks. The Lynphea Army had their own training area, but this one was for the RG specifically. The Army's duty was to Lynphea, while the RG was to the royal family. Flora looked at all the men fighting. Some were using swords and shields while others were using special guns. One particular fight caught Flora's eye._

_There was a group of five men, all of them were surrounding one dark haired man._

"_Mother look over there." Flora pointed to the group of men._

"_Oh my. That poor young man."_

_Cordatorta smiled. "Don't you worry your highness."_

_All of us watched as the five men started their attack._

_The dark haired man dodged a barrage of attacked from a blonde swordsman. The dark haired man jumped out of the way before a sword sliced him and then it looked like strings came out of his glove. While the blonde was trying to get his sword out of the ground the dark haired man used his glove to tie the blonde up. The now tied up blonde fell to the ground and the dark haired man took his sword. He used it to block two other men with their swords, one with red hair and the other man with brown. He pushed them back and then went on the offense. Swinging the sword each way, keeping the other two men on their toes. The barrage would have continued if some sort of magic didn't stop the dark haired man's stolen sword. _

_Flora looked and saw another man with braids using what looked like a magic scepter to hold the sword away from their opponent. He was chanting some kind of spell._

_It seemed, though, that the dark haired man expected this and did not hesitate as he used his string glove to grab the magician's scepter. He pulled it away and took it in his hand. The man then started to chant himself and took away the other mens' swords, leaving them defenseless. He once again used his string gloves and tied the men up. The braided man tried to get is scepter back by going against the dark haired man in hand to hand combat but he was no match and he too was tied up. The only other man left was a scawny boy with a disc gun. The dark haired man came running at the gunman. He panicked and started shooting his disc. The other man jumped and dodged the discs. He then kept running when he suddenly ducked and slid under the gunman and he used his string glove and wrapped it around on the gunman's legs and brought him to the ground. He stood up and wiped his uniform off and looked at all of his defeated opponents._

_He turned when he saw people applauding him, three of them being the royal family._

_King Asher walked up to the man and patted him on the back. "That was magnificent young man. You have true talent and skill. Please tell me your name son."_

_The man bowed. "My name is Helia Acacia, your highness. And your praise is greatly appreciated."_

"_That was impressive Helia. You have the skill of a man who has been on the battlefield many times but yet you are so young." The queen said._

"_Thank you your majesty. Many thanks goes to my uncle for my skills in fighting."_

_Cordatorta walked over and patted Helia on the back as well. "The famous Sir Saladin."_

"_Saladin you say. Why he was a wonderful guard." The queen smiled. "I did not know his grandson was in the royal guard."_

"_I'm not part of the guard just yet your majesty. I'm only trying out."_

"_Well I think I saw more then enough to pass you with flying colors. In fact, that little demenstartion gives me enough confidence to name you commander of my darling daughter's royal guard."_

_Everyone around the king had a look of shock on their face._

"_Sir, are you sure? I am not saying that Helia is not qualified but to make him commander…" Cordatorta tried to reason with the king but he put his hand up which silence the general._

"_You yourself just said he is qualified. I just saw his skill and was impressed and as you know general that is not easily done. Not to mention that he is the grandson of one of Lynphea's best generals. My decision will be final."_

_Helia took a deep bow. "I am truly honored your highness. I feel that I am unworthy of this honor but I will do all that is in my ability to keep the princess safe."  
"That's what I like to hear. We will take care of the formalities some other time, for now why don't you get to know the princess." King Asher turned to his daughter. "Come forward Flora and meet Helia."_

_Flora slowly walked through the small gathering and curtsied to Helia. "It's a pleasure to meet you Helia and I look forward to having you as my guard."_

_At that time, one of the first things that Flora thought was how cute Helia was with his dark hair and bright eyes. _

_Helia bowed and kissed Flora's hand. "No princess, it is my pleasure to meet you and I am honored to stand as your guard and put my life on the line for you."_

"_We will let you two get to know each other while we finish our stroll." With that, everyone followed the king as he walked off._

_Flora looked at the ground, to bashful to start the conversation._

"_If you don't mind me asking your majesty, who else is on your Royal Guard?"_

"_Oh! A…well…actually…that would be all the guards that you had just beaten." Flora pointed to the men who were getting untied and cleaning themselves off. "Their names are Sky, Brandon, Timmy, Nabu, and Riven."_

"_Well this is going to be awkward."_

_The two shared a laugh._

"_It might be a little bit. Good luck with Riven, especially, he is what we call extremely grouchy and a poor sport."_

"_I'm sure we will work things out. So princess, would you like to walk around with me so I can get to know you better." Helia took a bow._

_Flora smiled. "That would be lovely."_

And from that point on Helia and Flora quickly became friends. They realized that they had a lot in common. They both loved nature and thought that fighting should be used at a last resource. Flora couldn't imagine her life without him in it. He was more then the commander of her guard he was her best friend.

"Are you okay Flora?"

Flora broke out of her trance and looked up at Helia. He had a concerned look on his face. That was when Flora realized that the dance had ended. She quickly pushed herself off of Helia when she saw a few people giving them stares.

"I'm quite alright. Thank you for a lovely dance." She gave Helia a curtsy.

Helia smiled, seeing Flora back to normal and bowed back. "The pleasure is mine."

Flora walked through the crowd to grab herself a drink.

As she was sipping her punch, she couldn't help but overhear some young women talking.

"Isn't that Helia soooo cute?"  
"I know. He's so strong and handsome. A knight in shining armor."

"He is getting pretty old. He should be looking for a wife soon."

"Oh I hope it's me. We would look so good together."

The group started to giggle.

Flora felt a surge of jealousy coming over her. She couldn't imagine Helia with any of those silly girls. He needed someone with character, someone sweet, passionate, and kind. Not some girl that stood around gossiping.

"_Get a hold of yourself Flora, Helia is his own man, and a smart one at that. When he does get married it will be someone perfect."_

But for some reason that didn't make Flora feel any better.

Flora was broken from her thoughts when she heard the announcer calling everyone to be quiet. Once there was silence everyone turned to where the King and Queen were standing in front of their thrones.

"HELLO EVERYONE, I HOPE THAT YOU ARE ENJOYING THE BALL." There was amount of clapping from the crowd. "THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT WE ARE CELEBRATING TONIGHT. THE FIRST BEING THAT MY WIFE AND I HAVE JUST FOUND A NEW ROYAL ADVISOR, AND HE HAS ARRIVED TONIGHT."

"_Royal Advisor? How come my parents haven't told me about this before?"  
_"LET ME INTRODUCE SIR RADCLIFF."

A man made his way though the crowd and walked up to stand next to the king and shake his hand.

Flora gasped. It was the creepy man that Flora had seen earlier at the drink table.

Radcliff turned to the crowd. "I LOOK FORWARD TO HELPING LYNPHEA PROSPER AND BECOME THE GREATEST KINGDOM WE HAVE EVER KNOWN." The crowd applauded but Flora did not. There was something about him that she did not like. Even his smile gave her the creeps. She made a note to talk to her parents about him later.

"AND NOW FOR MY NEXT ANNOUNCEMENT, AS YOU ALL KNOW, MY LOVELY DAUGHTER IS NOW EIGHTENN AND WILL EVENTUALLY TAKE OVER THE CROWN."

"_Oh god, he's going to announce it to everyone."_

"BUT SHE WILL NOT BE ALONE IN THE GREAT RESPONSIBILITY. FLORA CAN YOU COME HERE PLEASE."

Flora made it through the crowd and went and stood next to her father as he went on with his speech.

"WE HAVE WONDERFUL NEWS THAT CROWN PRINCESS FLORA IS NOW ENGAGED!"

The crowd broke out into murmurs. Everyone wondering who the person was.

"NOW, NOW, EVERYBODY PLEASE BE QUIET FOR LET ME INTRODUCE YOU ALL TO THE FUTURE KING OF LYNPHEA…."


End file.
